No wonder all frantic anti activity lately! The states are going to lose their funding! This puts the push for the constitutional amendment to set aside 15% of the settlement money for tobacco control, in Florida, and the fight in Mississippi into a different light! The arbitrator already decided in March in favor of BT unofficially! What chance is there that he will change that opinion! Oh this is good!
"The cigarette companies paid billions into state coffers in return for the states abandoning legal claims against the industry."
That statement is wrong. The consumer is paying the billions. Even the consumer who doesn't smoke cigarettes.
"The cigarette companiues" just handle the money.
This is great. The states have been extorting money from cigarette companies, milions rolling in and at the same time attacking cigarette smokers by passing stupid anti-smoking laws and jacking up cigarette taxes. How long did they think this goose would continue to lay those golden eggs while they were slowly hacking its head off.
Although I pay taxes and in the end will have to take up the slack , I wish the courts would say the states would get nothing.
The whole case has been legal theft.
No incentive here for the states to attribute any illness they can to "smoking."
"You smoked for 2 months when you were 16 years old? Well, looks like it caught up with you at the age of 77! (Where's our check?)"
You know what this tells me?
It tells me that smokers will soon be taxed MORE on the tobacco purchased, and they'll try to tax the ACT of smoking.
When government loses funding, they get desperate -and dangerous.